Jonathan Garrie and Casey Sobczak hold up the best of their final limit that kept them in 1st place to win the Championship
Photo by Patty Lenderman, Lakecaster

Jonathan Garrie and Casey Sobczak hold up the best of their final...

Mark Price and Martin Elshout had a nearly perfect weekend, taking 2nd place overall with a two day total of 39.71 lbs
Photo by Patty Lenderman, Lakecaster

Mark Price and Martin Elshout had a nearly perfect weekend, taking...

Jason Wells and Vic Cooper came up from 8th place on day one to win 3rd place overall. They also won Anglers of the Year in the Bass N Bucks Rayburn Summer Series - for the second year in a row!
Photo by Patty Lenderman, Lakecaster

Jason Wells and Vic Cooper came up from 8th place on day one to win...

Corbett Ross caught the biggest bass over the course of two days, bringing this 9.45 pounder in on day one of the tournament and winning Big Bass.
photo by Patty Lenderman, Lakecaster

Championship qualifiers for both the Bass N Bucks and Bud Light Trail hit Sam Rayburn September 15-16, 2012 in a combined championship vying for a loaded Legend Alpha 191 bass boat powered by a 200 HP Mercury Optimax motor. Cumulative weights over the course of two days would determine the top teams. While there were a lot of shifts in the final standings, Casey Sobczak and Jonathan Garrie stayed on top of the pack of 131 teams both days to win.

Parker Lumber of Jasper, TX kicked off the championship weekend Friday night at the Umphrey Family Pavilion cooking up a great complimentary championship dinner on the BBQ pit for everyone to enjoy. Announcements were made, rules were reviewed, and everyone was ready to head out the next morning to their chosen launch sites and bring their catch back to the Umphrey Family Pavilion to be tallied.

Coming in a little early and way ahead of the rest were Casey Sobczak and Jonathan Garrie. Their creel weighed in at 26.31 lbs that included a solid 8.74 lb kicker. "We had a steady bite all day," Casey explained. "We would catch about one fish every hour or so." The ones they caught were quality fish, so they decided to hold with what they had and save some for the next day.

The top five teams all had weights over 20 pounds, but Sobczak and Garrie's weight held as top weight at the end of the day. Their kicker however was bested for the Big Bass category by Corbett Ross and Malcolm Williams with their 9.45 lb kicker.

The Tackle Monkey brought to the championship an offer for every single team that weighed in the first day. Whatever their weight was they could get that same percentage discount off of their purchase at the Tackle Monkey.

The day one weigh in was just wrapping up as thunder loomed in the distance.

Hometown Tackle and Marine from Center, Texas brought the grand prize Legend boat to the pavilion for the participants and spectators to see, and for the winners to be awarded.

Patrick Cascio & Ray Lassiegne were the first to take the overall lead on day two, bringing in 16.61 lbs to add to their first day weight of 13.39 lbs. That gave them an even 30 pounds for a two day total but that weight was destined to be beaten by fifteen other teams.

Mark Price and Martin Elshout tickled the 40 pound mark bringing in a 17.94 lb sack for a total weight of 39.71 lbs. They were sitting in third place coming into day two, and had surged into the lead. It was short lived as the day one leaders brought in their final catch.

Casey Sobczak and Jonathan Garrie brought in a mere 14.49 lbs to finish their two day total weight at 40.80 lbs and won the tournament. "We used 6th Sense 300DD crank baits in both main lake areas and in creeks," the team explained. "The trick was downsizing the line." They didn't get near as many bites the second day. "We only caught six keepers all day. It was tough. We hit a lot of stumps, structure and brush. We thought we had lost it." It was their sixth keeper, that one cull, that pulled out a win for them. "We exchanged a 1 ½ pounder for one over 5." It all came together for them to win the Legend Alpha 191 powered by a 200 HP Mercury Optimax, equipped with two Lowrance depth finders, Motorguide trolling motor, all situated on a Tandem Axle EZLoader Trailer. Their day one kicker also held for 2nd place Big Bass and they were presented with a $100 gift card from V&M baits. "We would like to give a big thanks to Hometown Tackle & Marine. We had some boat issues and they worked extremely hard to make sure we were able to get our boat for the tournament." They would also like to thank 6th Sense Lures, Costa Del Mar and Custom Angle Rods.

Martin Elshout and Mark Price described their weekend on the lake as "almost perfect". They started out Saturday using Yellow Magic topwater baits. "We had 21 pounds in the boat that first hour. When that bite quit, we switched to Texas rigs and culled by ounces three times." The second day they went right back to the same spot. "We probably caught about 20 keepers, but nothing over two pounds." They decided to make a move to a shallow, grassy area with willow trees. "We started throwing the Yellow Magic's again, and caught two big ones in three or four casts." They got another good bite, but that is where the 'almost' comes into play. "We had a big one on. She just jumped and came un-buttoned." In spite of that, they won 2nd place overall with a two day total of 39.71 lbs and was awarded $2,400. They would like to thank Ranger, Mercury, Motor Guide, Kistler rods and Ludwig Brothers Marine.

Jason Wells and Vic Cooper made a big move from their 8th place standings on day one to win 3rd place overall. They brought in a strong 18.50 lb sack the first day, then topped it off with a 20.28 lb limit on Sunday for a 38.78 lb total. "We got a pretty quick limit Saturday, had about 15 pounds in the boat by 7:30." They were fishing main lake ridges 8'-12' deep with Bomber Fat Free Shad crank baits. "Once the bite quit in that spot, we moved several times throughout the day to similar areas and were able to cull several times." On Sunday, they went to all new areas. "The bite was really slow. It took until 10am to get five fish in the livewell. We kept looking for areas similar to the ones we had fished Saturday, then discovered they had backed out into a little deeper water, 9'-15' deep." Once they made that change, their quality bites were on the end of their lines. They won $1,400 for their 3rd place finish and would like to thank Shelby Savings Bank, AFI Incorporated, Town & Country Marine and Lews.

The 9.45 lb'r that Corbett Ross and Malcolm Williams brought in on day one held for Big Bass honors. Corbett says he caught that fish at a creek bend with a crank bait in about 15' of water in the morning. "She made a jump, and we got real nervous we were going to lose her!" For that catch he was awarded a check for $1,000 and would like to thank Pro Gator Boats and Evinrude.

Top 10 Rayburn Championship Teams:

1st Boat 40.80 lbs Casey Sobczak & Jonathan Garrie

2nd $2,400 39.71 lbs Mark Price & Martin Elshout

3rd $1,400 38.78 lbs Jason Wells & Vic Cooper

4th $1,100 37.20 lbs Jason Bonds & Todd Castledine

5th $1,000 36.29 lbs Jeff & Tyler Fisher

6th $ 900 35.74 lbs Ronald Risenhoover & Charles Ford

7th $ 800 33.82 lbs Clayton Boulware & Chris McCall

8th $ 700 33.25 lbs Michael & Lance Lowery

9th $ 550 32.88 lbs Lou Caycedo & Billy Smith

9th $ 550 32.88 lbs Don Whisenhunt & Bruce Taylor

The top 18 teams received checks and 19th - 21st places were awarded sponsor products.

Bass N Bucks Anglers of the Year were presented their plaques for their accomplishments to achieve this honor during the 2012 season.

Spring Rayburn Series - Shelby Shaw and Lance Hughes

Spring Toledo Series - Scooter Clark & Ryan Pinkston

Summer Rayburn Series - Jason Wells & Vic Cooper

Summer Toledo Series - Scooter Clark & Ryan Pinkston

Part of the reward for their achievements is waiver of entry fees for the series they won the honor in. Congratulations to them!

There are THREE more championship events that Bass N Bucks anglers can participate in for BIG money and a Legend boat!

September 30 Lake Amistad $10,000 (Bud Light Trail - Bass N Bucks)

October 20-21 Toledo Bend Legend Alpha 211 (Bass N Bucks only)

October 28 Ray Roberts $10,000 (Bud Light Trail - Bass N Bucks)

Those who finish in the top 50% in any of the five region championships is eligible to fish the Grand Championship on Lake Texoma November 10-11. There will be TWO Legend boats as top prizes in this big championship event.

The staff and crew for the Bud Light and Bass N Bucks Trails would like to thank everyone who came out and fished in their circuits this year. "We are continuing to strive to make this a fun, rewarding circuit for everyone. We would also like to thank everyone who gave us your input letting us know what you'd like to see in a bass circuit so we can continue to make this your circuit to fish. We have some exciting announcements to make for the 2013 season that will include expansion to another region to include Lake Fork! We will post it all on our websites and encourage you to sign up for our free newsletter so we can keep you up to date on everything. Our 2013 schedules are available online and if you have any questions we'd love to hear from you. We would like to thank all of our great sponsors and encourage you to support them, as they provide cash and prizes at every tournament for our participants. They continue to provide top notch products that help with your success on the water."